Discerptible ski



March 13, 1951 1%. J. MEEHAN 2,545,209

DISCERPTIBLE SKI Filed June 10, 1948 2 Sheets-Sheet l Regina/d J. Mae/ran IN VENTOR.

BY WW 8 M 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 R. J. MEEHAN DISCERPTIBLE SKI March 13, 1951 Filed June 10, 1948 IN VENTOR.

Regina/d J. Meehan Patented Mar. 13, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT orrics DISCERPTIBLE SKI Reginald J. Meehan, East Hartford, Conn.

Application June 10, 1948, Serial No. 32,076

1 Claim. 1

This invention relates to new and. useful improvements and structural refinement in skiing equipment, and the principal object of the invention is to facilitate convenient portability of skis while they are not being used.

This object is achieved in a twofold manner, primarily by forming each ski in a pair of disconnectible sections, and secondly, by providing what may be referred to as a carrier to receive the disconnected ski sections.

When it is realized that conventional skis are approximately seven feet in length, the advantages afforded by the invention are readily appreciated. That is to say, although the skis used in the invention are, when assembled, of the conventional seven foot length, the carrier containing the disconnected ski sections is barely over four feet long, and may not only be conveniently carried, but may also be unobtrusively stored on the trains, automobiles, or in the home when the skis are not being used.

The invention also contemplates the fulfillment of even greater functional and utilitarian prerequisites, namely, in time of war when airborne paratroopers are discharged from aircraft together with ski equipment for use on snow covered terrain of the enemy. conventionally, the procedure followed under such circumstances was for the paratroopers to jettison their skiingequipment with parachutes from the aircraft, while they themselves followed the equipment, also employing parachutes. It is easily understandable that even under normal atmospheric conditions but particularly under conditions of high wind. the paratroopers and their skiing equipment landed in widely scattered locations, and upon landing a state of great confusion arose while each paratrooper endeavored to locate his skiing equipment. This confusion was by no means diminished by the fact that the activity took place, in many instances, on terrain covered with several feet of soft snow, and possibly, in the pres ence of enemy attack.

Obviously, a procedure of this nature leaves much to be desired, and it will be apparent after perusing the following disclosure, the invention substantially minimizes if not completely eliminates the obvious disadvantages of the conventional airborne ski troop practices.

A paratrooper, equipped with the invention, carries his disconnected ski section in a carrier on his back, so that with his hands free and by employing only one parachute, he is fully able to jump out of the aircraft, and land, still accompanied by his skiing equipment, so that he and placed in use.

may readily apply the skis to his feet without moving from the exact location of his landing. Moreover, it will be noted that the carrier containing the disconnected ski sections, will effectively protect the back of the paratrooper from mentation and study, I; have found that the conventiona-l wooden skis do not lend themselves to discerpti-bility in a practical manner, inasmuch as the wood material is unable to satisfactorily withstand the stress and strain tov which the sections are subjected when connected together Accordingly, the invention contemplates the formation of discerptible skis from metal, such as for example, magnesium alloy, which not only possesses the. required characteristics of durability, but which also renders the skis extremely light and easy to carry.

Moreover, I have found that the substitution of metal for wood in skis facilitates relatively faster skiing speeds, since a comparatively lesser coemcient of friction exists at the surface of contact of the ski with the. snow.

As will be apparent from the following disclosure, one of the important features of the invention resides in the provision of means for securely locking the disconnectible ski sections together, yet at the same time, permitting the ski sections to be readily and conveniently separated, when so desired.

Important advantages of the invention reside in its simplicity of construction, and in its adaptability to economical manufacture.

With the above more important objects and features in view, and such other objects and features as may become apparent as this specification proceeds, the invention consists essentially of the arrangement and construction of parts as illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure l is a perspective view of the ski carrier in situ on the back of the user;

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the carrier in readiness to be carried by hand;

Figure 3 is a perspective view of a ski constructed in accord with the invention, the same being shown in an assembled form;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary perspective view showing the ski sections disconnected;

Figure 5 is a fragmentary top plan view of the connected ski sections;

Figure 6 is a cross-sectional view, taken substantially on the plane of the line 6-6 of Figure 5;

Figure 7 is a cross-sectional view, taken substantially in the plane of the line !1 in Figure 5;

Figure 8 is a cross-sectional view, taken sub-- stantially in the plane of the line 8-8 in Figure 5;

Figure 9 is a cross-sectional view, taken substantially in the plane of the line 9-.-9 in Figure 5; and

Figure 10 is a perspective View of a locking pin used in the invention.

Like characters of reference are employed to designate like parts in the specification and throughout the several views.

Referring now to the accompanying drawings in detail, the discerptible ski designated generally by the reference character 20 will be described, a pair of these, of course, being used, but since they are substantially simila in construction, a description of one will sufiice for both.

The discerptible ski 20, when assembled as shown in Figure 3, is of a substantially conventional external configuration, but is composed of two .disconnectible sections, namely, a forward section 22 and a rear section 24.

It is to be noted that the sections 22, 24 are formed on their upper surface with longitudinal reinforcing ribs 26, 28, respectively, while the under surfaces of the sections are longitudinally grooved in the conventional manner, as at 30.

The rear end portion 32 of the forward ski section 22 is thickened, as is the forward end portion 34 of the rear section 24, thus providing a foot receiving platform equipped with a suitable bracket 36 to receive the conventional foot strap or harness (not shown).

As has been already stated, the ski 20 is of metallic construction, being formed from magnesium alloy, aluminum, or the like, and one of the features of novelty in the invention resides in the provision of means for securely yet disconnectibly locking together the two sections 22, 24.

These means include the formation of a recess 38 in the forward portion 34 of the skisection 24, the recess 38 being provided at the sides thereof with a pair of dovetailed guides 40, which are intended to slidably receive a complementarily dovetailed tongue 42, which extends rearwardly from the rear portion 32 of the front ski section 22.

It is to be observed that the tongue 42 terminates in' a substantially semi-circular, downwardly offset tenon 44 which is receivable in a complementarily configurated mortice 46 formed in the forward portion 34 of the ski section 24, while a similar tenon 48, formed integrally with the forward portion 24 is receivable in a similar mortice 50 provided in the rear portion 32 of the ski section 22, as is best shown in Figure 6.

By virtue of this structural arrangement, proper longitudinal alignment of the two ski sections is assured, and moreover, the ski sections, being properly interlocked, are prevented from relative twisting or distortion. The formation of the various mortices and tenons, as well as of the dovetailed tongue 42 and guides 40, is facilitated by the metallic construction of the ski, it being obvious that the conventional wooden skis, particularly in the presence of moisture, would be subjected to considerable contraction and expansion, whereby proper interfitting or interlocking of the various elements would not be possible and distortion would result.

It may be also explained at this point that the aforementioned harness bracket 35 (of conventional nature) is secured to the tongue 42 by suitable bolts and nuts as shown in Figure 6, the securing bolts passing through suitable apertures 52 formed in the tongue 42, while the nuts are disposed in a recess 54 provided on the underside of the tongue. Here again, the machined metallic construction of the ski facilitates the use of bolts and nuts in lace of wood screws conventionally employed, the bolts and nuts obviously being more secure and preventing the bracket 36 from shifting on the ski or possibly becoming detached therefrom.

Means are employed for locking the sections 22, 24, together, these means including a locking pin 55 provided with a wing nut-shaped head 58 and also equipped with a lateral projection F50, as is best shown in Figure 10. The pin 56 is rotatably and slidably receivable in a keyhole-shaped aperture G2 formed in the aforementioned tenon 44,

and also, the projection of the pin is receivable in suitable recess 6-2, provided in the portion 34 of the ski section 24. (See Figure 6.) That is to say, the pin 56 may be withdrawn upwardly so that the projection fit is disposed in the recess 64, thereby permitting the tenon 42 to be withdrawn from the mortice Q5 and facilitating separation of the ski sections 22, 24.

On the other hand, the pin 56 may be pushed downwardly through the aperture 62 and may then be rotated so that the projection 63 engages the under surface of the tenon 44 (while being disposed in the recess 65), thereby locking the two ski sections together.

It is believed that the advantages and use of the invention will be clearly apparent from the foregoing disclosure and accordingly, further decription thereof at this point is deemed unnecessary.

While in the foregoing there has been shown and described the preferred embodiment of this invention, it is to be understood that minor changes in the details of construction and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

Having described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

In a discerptible ski, the combination of a forward ski section and a rear ski section, the forward portion of the rear ski section being provided with an elongated recess having an open top, an open forward end, a pair of downwardly divergent side walls, and a bottom projecting forwardly beyond front edges of said side walls to afford a front tenon having its lower surface spaced above the lower surface of the associated ski section, the rear portion of the front ski section being reduced in thickness and in width to afford an elongated tongue positioned in said re cess and having downwardly tapered side edges in cc-mplemental engagement with said side walls, a lower portion of the forward section being provided forwardly of said tongue with a mortice to receive said front tenon, a rear tenon projecting rearwardly from said tongue and having its top rear end of said recess with a mortice to receive 5 said rear tenon, said rear section and said rear tenon having vertically registerable apertures, and a locking pin removably positioned in said apertures to prevent separation of said sections.

REGINALD J. MEEHAN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in'the file of this patent:

Number Number Switzerland Mar. 16, 1945 

